58 BRITISH BIRDS. [vol. xiv. 



composition. The sound somehow reminded one of a cluck- 

 ing note of the Blackbird {T. meriila) blended with . a 

 certain trill of the Ringed Plover {Ch. hiaticida). Before 

 alighting they hovered with fluttering outspread wings, and, 

 with so many passers-by, at these moments we experi- 

 enced considerable anxiety, as this action made them very 

 conspicuous, their backs shining in the bright sunshine like 

 burnished gold, although when they actually settled the effect 

 was quite reversed, as the colour of their backs blended 

 beautifully with the sand. Also when the birds left the hole 

 they were difficult to detect, as they shot out like an arrow 

 high into the air. Watching the proceedings of the birds day 

 by day we realized that we were the privileged observers of a 

 great ornithological event, as this was the first occasion, so far 

 as we knew, on which these rare visitors would almost assuredly 

 nest in the British Isles. 



To obtain even a glimpse of a Bee-eater in this country 

 would be an event forming a red-letter da}^ in the life of any 

 British ornithologist, but to see a pair of these birds for hours 

 daily, making long flights or perching within fifty yards of 

 where we stood, and every now and then darting after their 

 insect prey or paying visits to the apparent nesting-site was a 

 pleasure which we feel sure the most ambitious ornithologist 

 could never have hoped to enjoy. 



All appeared to go well until the 12th of the month, when 

 the male bird alone was in evidence, and we somehow got the 

 impression that it was more wary. Had the female actuall}^ 

 commenced to incubate the eggs ? was the thought that came 

 to us. . The 13th passed without our paying a visit, and on 

 the following day we only saw the male for a short interval. 

 Visiting the spot early on the 15th we found it perched on 

 the now familiar site, but it made off when we attempted to 

 make a near approach, and we little thought at the moment 

 that this would form our last view of these beautiful birds. 

 Later on in the day we heard the sad news that the female 

 had been captured on the 13th by a local gardener. 



It was put into a greenhouse, supplied with bread-crumbs, 

 and died, we understand, within two days, though before 

 doing so it laid an egg, which, unfortunatelv, was broken and 

 lost. 



The sad climax of this little drama in bird life was reached 

 in the course of another few days through the unfortunate 

 survivor being caught and entirely destroyed by a cat near 

 the spot where the hen-bird came to its untimely end. 



